


Birds Of A Feather

by TomatoBird



Category: RWBY
Genre: M/M, Mischief, Qrowtober (RWBY), bit late but yknow, day 10 - magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBird/pseuds/TomatoBird
Summary: Potion making takes patience, talent and a little bit of luck ...or at least the right ingredients.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Birds Of A Feather

"You want to do what to me?!"

Qrow takes a few ingredients from the shelf, counting under his breath and seemingly ignoring Clover's inquiry. Clover clears his throat loudly which finally catches the other man's attention. Qrow’s eyes meet Clover’s as he turns around. 

"I just want to test out a new potion that's all. I just need you to drink it." He explains while dumping a bunch of items into a bubbling cauldron. Clover raises an eyebrow while leaning back against the wall as he eye’s Qrow’s movements. 

"Why can't you test it yourself?"

"Because if something went wrong, who would be around to craft an antidote?"

Clover pauses at that, ''You're not making a really good case for yourself handsome." He pushes off the wall and makes his way over towards the other. Qrow looks over to his side and gives a shrug.

"I know but you can trust me - I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Qrow's sincerity rang true in his voice, which did ease Clover's concerns by a little bit, but he did wonder what was to happen. Qrow was an exceptionally smart person and Clover could feel every inch of his heart and soul being drawn to him - the magic of his world piquing his every interest.

Qrow stirs the green liquid as it bubbles loudly - occasionally dropping another ingredient into the brew. Clover notices the focus in the man's light red eyes, never once did they stray from the task at hand, and Clover would be lying to himself if he didn't find that extremely attractive. 

"I just need one more thing. Wait here would ya?" Qrow says, turning away from the brew and disappearing into the storage closet across the room. The swinging door to the closest shuts behind Qrow with a click, leaving Clover alone in the room with the bubbling cauldron.

He steps over to inspect the liquid more closely, drawn to the iridescent bubbles from the rolling boil. Trying to be helpful, he bends down to check the wood stove beneath the pot. If this potion is important to Qrow, the last thing Clover would want is the fire going out on his watch.

Much to his surprise, however, he sees there isn't even a single twig in the fire compartment. Instead, a dark red flame cracks and flickers of its own accord. It barely seems to give off any heat at all. Clover had to put his face almost inside the stove to feel even the slightest bit of warmth from the flames. 

The clattering of ingredient jars sounds from the storage cabinet, causing Clover to shoot back up into a standing position. As he stands, though, his shoulder knocks into a small bundle of iridescent leaf-like objects, causing it to tip into the cauldron before he can react. Clover’s eyes go wide. He goes to reach for the brew, but thinks better of it as he hears Qrow’s footsteps approaching. He chooses to scoot back to his original place across the room instead.

Just as Clover settles back against the wall, fire bursts into the air which causes Clover to flinch back against the wall with a yelp, but the flames fizzle out within seconds. Qrow chuckles "That just means it's done," he explains as he takes out the large wooden spoon and walks over to the shelves once more. Clover gives an awkward laugh, having missed the other’s entrance entirely. 

"You witches sure as hell love the dramatics don't you?" Instead of responding, just Qrow hums to himself as his fingers wander over the glasses before finally settling on a small, stout one. 

"I won't give you much, so don't you worry your pretty little head," he smiles while walking back over and promptly dunking the glass under the surface of the potion. Clover blushes at that comment as he watches Qrow. 

Holding up the glass, Qrow inspects it closely - the green liquid swirls around slowly. 

"It's ready," he says after a pause, smiling as he holds it out for Clover. Clover looks down at it and swallows, not moving from his place against the wall. Qrow blinks before retracting his hand and his features soften. 

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," he reassures him gently. 

Clover takes a few seconds to process that before shaking his head, "N-No. I trust you entirely - let's do it." He squares his shoulders and steps forward, a new wave of confidence washing over his body. Qrow nods as he places the container into Clover's hand. 

"Bottoms up?"

Qrow snickers, "Nah I'll bring you flying another day." Clover almost chokes on his own spit at that comment, eyes shooting up to meet Qrow’s. The other is smirking at Clover, his eyes crinkling at the edges. Clover chooses to look down at the potion again rather than think about that.

"You're lucky I haven't started drinking yet because this stuff would have gone halfway across the room at that," he mumbles which only causes Qrow to chuckle darkly again. 

As Clover begins to gulp down the potion, a tingly sensation starts to travel throughout his body. Almost gagging at the sharp flavour of the liquid, he wrinkles his nose and perseveres, swallowing every single drop. Gasping for as he finishes it, he looks over to Qrow - who is watching him intensely. 

"I feel a little wonky," Clover says as he places the glass down and a rush of static runs up his body - causing him to yelp out in surprise. The last thing he heard was Qrow yelling out his name before the world around him went dark. 

"Clover? Oh God's Clover!?"

Qrow's voice was much louder than it usually was as Clover slowly opened his eyes. But to his confusion - everything was huge! Panic begins to settle into his brain as Clover attempts to cry out in horror - only to hear frightened squawking instead. 

Looking up, Clover meets Qrow's concerned eyes. The other stares down at him in return, his brow furrowing. 

"This isn't what was supposed to happen at all...are you okay?" If Clover was honest - he wasn't even sure if he was? He didn't know what was happening and every time he tried to move his body, he would just stumble and fall. 

"Wait. Hold on, I'll get a mirror," Qrow says, his loud footsteps receding in the other direction. Clover could feel his heart beating like crazy as he stood there, a sense of helplessness immobilizing him. It wasn't long before Qrow's stomping was heard again and much to Clover's surprise - he was scooped up in the other's warm hands. 

With gentle movements, Qrow places him at the table and clears his throat, "Now don't freak out Cloves," he says with a nervous tremor as he places the mirror in front of Clover. 

Clover stares at his reflection, but he wasn't there - in his place stands a small blue bird with white flecks up its body with a long pointy beak. Slowly, Clover creeps towards the reflective surface and much to his shock, the bird mimics his movements to a T, and it finally sinks in like a weight settling in his chest. 

With a sharp caw Clover starts beating his wings as he shuffles backwards, his eyes darting back and forth in a panic. 

  
  


"Clover calm down--" Clover sees Qrow's hand towering over him and almost instinctively, he bounces back and he could feel himself slip from the edge of the table. As he lands on the carpeted floor, Clover begins to excessively flap his wings with more force in a frenzy-like state - panic completely overtaking him. 

Flying around the room, Clover could see Qrow trying his best to catch up but Clover was too disorientated to realise the other man was just trying to help. Making erratic circles around the room, he finally notices a window that was wide open and, without a second thought, he dives down to it and soars out into the cold world outside.

He could hear Qrow's distant voice calling for him but Clover couldn't process it right now - his brain was too overwhelmed. Flying through the dark, moonless night, Clover struggles to find his bearings or even keep track of which way he’s going - just narrowly able to dodge branches and tree trunks.

Clover's flying is awkward and clumsy. His wings would sometimes just stop flapping and he'd begin to fall to the ground below - only to finally regain control of them and flit back up at the last moment. The deeper he goes into the forest, the darker and more crowded it gets. 

It becomes extremely difficult for Clover to navigate through the brush as he finds himself getting briefly snagged on a branch or two. He’s losing his edge - becoming more careless as he continues to flutter through the trees. 

Without paying attention to where he was going - Clover flies right into a thorned bush and instantly becomes entangled. His mind races as he struggles to break free of his entrapment. The thorns dig further into his feathers, pricking into his body more and more with every movement. 

The silence of the forest finally starts to catch Clover’s attention. The only sounds that he can hear are his own frantic heart and the rustling he makes in the bush. Clover is in the middle of brainstorming on how to escape this predicament when the leaves around him start to move on their own. 

Clover freezes, his gaze darting around in an attempt to locate the source of the movement. It was if the creature responsible was in ten places at once, with rustling coming from all sides - terrifying Clover. 

Suddenly, light green eyes illuminate from the trees. Clover let's out a series of frightened chirps before he closes his eyes and braces himself for whatever is to come. Something starts to sniff him excessively and Clover could feel his tiny body tense up. The next few seconds pass by like an eternity - Clover just preparing for the creature to lunge forward and attack. 

Much to his surprise, however, a whooshing sound is heard instead. Then he feels fingers carefully brushing over his feathers. He could only assume they were untangling him from his thorny prison. 

Finally, Clover decides to open his eyes and he meets those light green ones, realizing they belong to a person instead of a beast. Someone with a stern look on their face and soft blonde hair held up in a ponytail with the bangs pinned to the side. 

With a sigh - they cup Clover gently in their hands, "Let's just get you out of here human." Clover could feel them start to walk in another direction, but they had shifted their grip about him so he’s unable to make out the direction they’re going. 

_ Human? How could they possibly know? _

As Clover is carried through the forest, he pokes his head upwards in order to get a view of his surroundings. The world is still dark and eerie, but in the distance he sees a warm glow. He lets his ruffled feathers relax, no longer feeling in immediate danger. It’s strange, but whatever was at the cottage didn't scare him - he actually felt more relaxed the closer they got. The person pushes the door open and Clover could feel the warmth radiate over his feathers as he lets out a few content chirps. 

"Found your human," the person grumbles as they place Clover on top of a wooden desk. "Well 'human' is putting it lightly." The person huffs and looks down at Clover again.

"C-Clover!" Qrow's voice almost deafens the small bird as he jumps back in shock. He takes a moment to find his bearings once again and his eyes shoot up to meet those familiar red ones. Every inch of Clover's body becomes whole again as he hops over to Qrow. 

"I'm so sorry this happened," Qrow says quietly as he scritches the back of Clover's head, who responds with a couple of happy chitters.

"Qrow, what on earth are you thinking?!" A stern voice scolds across from them, as the blonde-haired person crosses their arms. Qrow pulls Clover close to his chest in a protective manner. 

"I didn't think this would happen. Can you help fix him, Glynda?" He asks her in a worried tone. The other looks Qrow up and down before rolling her eyes. 

"I warned you about getting mixed up with humans - you have no idea how they'll react to our magic!" 

"I already know what I did, you don't have to keep scolding me like I'm some child!" 

Glynda let's out a dry laugh as she walks over towards a massive book and begins to flip through the pages, "Don't flatter yourself Qrow - a child would have more sense than you." The comment has Qrow giving a short pout before looking in the other direction and Clover just gives an amused chitter.

"So what were you even planning to make?"

Qrow raises an eyebrow "I was making Bird’s Haste, and needed some help testing it - Clover agreed to do just that." He explains with a short glance down to the bird who was snuggled into his chest and Qrow smiles warmly. Glynda clears her throat - snapping Qrow out of his daze.

"What did you even put into the cauldron to cause an outcome like this?!" 

Qrow shrugs "I was following the recipe perfectly - two cups of troll flour, a dozen salamander eggs and a dash of fire pixie's dust." As Qrow explains, Clover shudders as he comes to realise he had consumed all of those ingredients - maybe he should have asked questions after all? Glynda meanwhile puts a finger up to her chin, deep in thought. 

"That's exactly how it's brewed, but how you went so terribly wrong is beyond my understanding…" She mutters quietly to herself as she reads the book over and over again. 

Qrow's body tenses up, "I must have done something...Maybe I missed a step? Or added too much flour…" As Qrow began to mutter possible scenarios that could have resulted in their situation, guilt washes over Clover's tiny body as he listens to Qrow continuing to ramble to himself. 

Clover's head bows down with a sad chirp which catches Qrow's attention as he gently paps the top of his head, muttering "I won't stop until I fix this for you." The man's voice was so full of regret that it hurt Clover deep down. He wanted so desperately to reassure Qrow that he didn't do a single thing wrong… It was all completely his fault. 

"I have no idea how to fix this Qrow - I have very little knowledge of transformative potions, even in a basic capacity such as this." 

Qrow looks confused, "But don't you shape shift all the time?" Glynda shook her head as she sighs loudly.

"Physical transformations are entirely differently compared to shifts brought on by potions," she explains as she looks down towards Clover with a raised eyebrow, "so for all we know - this is a permanent change." That statement causes Qrow's grip on Clover to become much more intense. 

"No, I refuse to believe I can't help Clover get back to normal - what about Oz?" 

Glynda groans, "Is this all really worth it bothering him?" She shoots another glance down at the bird in Qrow's hands. "You're putting all this effort into saving a human - where was this energy for others of your kind when they needed it?" That comment brings with it an eerie silence. 

After a few moments - Qrow finally speaks up once again, "Just get Oz over here, please." The other witch just stares at him for a long time before letting out an annoyed huff. 

"Whatever - but you can't avoid these questions forever you old bird,” she says, giving Qrow another pointed look before walking away. Qrow avoids her gaze, placing Clover back on the smooth surface of his desk and giving the small bird a quick scratch under his chin.

"I'll have this sorted in no time," he says smiling as Clover happily melts into the touch. As Qrow finds himself completely memorized by the overall cuteness that was Clover - he didn't even hear Glynda return to the room. 

"Qrow?"

Glynda receives no response as Qrow continues to affectionately pet Clover, much to her frustration. After a few minutes of this, Glynda snaps her fingers and the hood of Qrow's cloak is pulled over his head. 

With a groan, Qrow pulls it back down and glares at her over his shoulder, huffing "Alright I'm listening - what did Oz say?"

Glynda shrugs "I just sent the message through your crystal ball, who knows when he will arrive--"

A big poof of smoke with a with bang causes everyone in that room to jump up in surprise. A slender, bespeckled man with white hair and dark pine green clothes looks around the room silently as he takes in his surroundings. 

After the initial shock wares off - Qrow finally speaks up, "Oz?! How the hell did you manage to get past my ward-"

Ozpin holds his hand which forces Qrow to fall silent and allows the other man to speak, ''Who did you think invented wards Qrow?" He asks with a sly smile as he makes his way across the room with surprising grace. His eyes soon fall upon Clover, who instantly draws back due to the intensity of the man's stare. 

"So is this the human I've heard so much about?" He questions with a fond little hum, inspecting Clover closely. "Mind you, I know I haven't seen a human in decades but I don't recall them being this...feathery?" He remarks with an amused laugh. 

Qrow steps forward, "It was my fault, Oz. I messed up the potion and Clover paid the price." He gives a sad glance towards the bird in question. Ozpin raises an eyebrow as he stands upright once again, his gaze never once leaving Clover. 

"Did you perhaps add in dragonfly wings?" That question has Qrow's head whip up as he looks at Ozpin with a puzzled stare. 

"No offense Oz, but my memory isn't that bad yet," he answers but the other man doesn't react initially to Qrow's input. 

"I wasn't talking to you Qrow." 

Clover could feel every eye in the room fall on him and his feathers puffed up. 

"Clover?" 

Ozpin chuckles, "It appears that your human might have… accidentally added some extra ingredients to the brew," He smiles down at Clover as he proceeds to pick him up and present him to Qrow, "isn't that right?" He prompts Clover again with a little nudge. 

Clover finally looks back up at Qrow and slowly nods his head in an apologetic manner. 

"He didn't mean it Qrow - he just made a mistake. That's all." 

As Ozpin places Clover into Qrow's hands once more - the bird chirps sadly in response. After a few seconds of silence, Qrow couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he scratches underneath Clover's chin. 

"You idiot," he smiles. Clover gives a few embarrassed chitters in response. 

"So can you change this human back to normal?" Glynda asks with an unamused stare towards the duo who were very much caught up in their own little world.

Ozpin chuckles, "Clover has always been able to change back." Both Clover and Qrow’s heads turn to stare at him in total shock. 

"You can't be serious Oz," Qrow mutters only for the man to give a firm nod in response. Qrow's attention once again falls to Clover in his hands. 

"How about it Clover - you think you can do it?" Qrow's question has the bird look down, as if he was pondering over the thought intensely, before he gives a firm nod. 

Placing the bird back on the ground, everyone takes a step back as they watch in anticipation. Clover closes his eyes tightly as he focuses all of his energy into returning back to his human form - his body brimming with so much energy in the progress. 

Finally there was a loud 'poof' and where the small kingfisher once stood, Clover takes its place - chestnut hair, tan skin, green vest, and all. Qrow rolls his eyes as he walks over to the man and cups his cheek. 

"You idiot," he repeats the phrase once more as he stares into the man's eyes with a soft smile. 

Clover blushes, chuckling, "My bad.” Ozpin nods his head and turns to Glynda. 

"We best take our leave - I have a feeling they will want some time to themselves," he says with a smirk as he begins to walk towards the door which, following a flick of his wrist, swings open for him. 

Not wanting to be alone with the two lovebirds - Glynda follows suit not far behind Ozpin. 

"That pair is nothing but trouble - we can't just let them be together, can we?" Glynda asks. 

Ozpin doesn't respond for a few seconds before he shrugs "Those two are connected by something beyond our control - it would be foolish to attempt to break them apart." 

"But what if they are dangerous together?"

Ozpin turns to Glynda once more "Love isn't dangerous, or something to fear." 

Glynda pauses at that as she looks back towards Qrow's hut, seeing the two standing in the window, completely memorized by the other.

"While I'm happy for that old bird - I hope he doesn't grow careless," Gylnda lets out a big sigh before she continues, "We all know who is waiting for that to happen." 

With those words - a distant caw is heard which was followed by the sound of flapping.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again this fic was edited and proof read by the amazing @thetopazvulpix on tumblr! ily katie thank u sm for helping me yet again.
> 
> I am using Wes' witch! qrow AU which I'm absolutely a sucker for LMAO


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